How badly is my CPU bottlenecking my system for gaming?

[mrkaru]

GPU - MSI GTX 980 Gaming edition

CPU - i5 3570k (Overclocked to 4,5Ghz) 

RAM - 16gb (2x8) 1600 Mhz Corsair Vengeance DDR3

Mobo - Asrock Extreme 4 Z77 

OS - Win 10 Home 64x

Resolution -  2560x1440@144hz (With Gsync). 

I use this machine primarily (almost exclusively) for gaming. 

 

I've been delaying upgrading my CPU for a while, since it also means upgrading the motherboard, RAM and possibly OS as well, making it a very expensive upgrade for what seems to be very little gain. However, I've started to worry that the bottleneck in my system is beginning to get more and more extreme, and was wondering if people had any advice for me. Would I see any amount of performance increase from the huge cost of upgrading the CPU (plus RAM and Motherboard) or would I be better off to continue saving? The increase in performance for the 6600k (my planned upgrade) seems really negligible for the price, but there doesn't seem to be any better alternatives for gaming performance.

[comefightme]

I don't think a 3570k will bottleneck your system, it is good enough

[Alexzz_]

maybe you should wait for kabylake or zen to come out. are you expiriencing problems or low fps in games?

[flibberdipper]

It shouldn't be bottlenecking in anything, really.

[brickster]

I wouldn't think that you would be bottlenecked by the 3570k. I'm bottlenecked by my 2500k but thats because i'm using a gtx 1080.

[mrkaru]

7 minutes ago, Alexzz_ said:

maybe you should wait for kabylake or zen to come out. are you expiriencing problems or low fps in games?

Not really, I get decent framerate in most situations, but with really high CPU usage in a lot of games. I figured it would be best to ask people who know better, since I want to plan accordingly. 

 

Honestly a lot of this worry comes from the fact that I bought this cpu nearly 4 years ago, and I'm really not sure how long I should be relying on an older CPU while still upgrading my gpu to the newest models. 

[Zyndo]

I would depend on your monitor. Assuming you're gaming at 60 fps then your CPU shouldn't be a problem (nor should your GPU really)

 

If you're considering upgrading off that platform, I would recommend waiting for Zen or Kaby Lake at least (should be out later this year and early next year, respectively) since your computer shouldn't be giving you enough issues now to force an immediate skylake upgrade.

[Bananasplit_00]

CPU isnt really a bottleneck here

[PRTI]

Does not look like a bottleneck

[mrkaru]

4 minutes ago, Zyndo said:

I would depend on your monitor. Assuming you're gaming at 60 fps then your CPU shouldn't be a problem (nor should your GPU really)

 

If you're considering upgrading off that platform, I would recommend waiting for Zen or Kaby Lake at least (should be out later this year and early next year, respectively) since your computer shouldn't be giving you enough issues now to force an immediate skylake upgrade.

Sorry I forgot to mention. Will add that to the OP now

I play with a 2560x1440@144hz monitor, but it has Gsync so it's pretty smooth even when dipping below 60 

[SLAYR]

6 minutes ago, mrkaru said:

Not really, I get decent framerate in most situations, but with really high CPU usage in a lot of games. I figured it would be best to ask people who know better, since I want to plan accordingly. 

 

Honestly a lot of this worry comes from the fact that I bought this cpu nearly 4 years ago, and I'm really not sure how long I should be relying on an older CPU while still upgrading my gpu to the newest models. 

Well even that 4 year old cpu is still as good as a modern skylake i5, high cpu usage means that your cpu is doing its job, if you see 100% usage constantly, then that may be an issue.

[Zyndo]

4 minutes ago, mrkaru said:

Sorry I forgot to mention. Will add that to the OP now

I play with a 2560x1440@144hz monitor, but it has Gsync so it's pretty smooth even when dipping below 60 

ah okay.... 144hz would definitely be a problem for both your CPU and GPU in some games (things like MOBA and low end shooters shouldn't have a problem. but higher AAA games will definitely not be 144HZ)

 

I would still recommend waiting it out for Zen or Kaby lake (especially kaby lake being early next year), but if you cannot wait that long then a 6700k would probably be the best investment for you as it should be able to hit that 144hz mark reasonably easy. But if you keep saving into the new year, you should be able to afford a brand new i7-7700k when it comes out which will (probably) be the best consumer CPU on the planet below X99 platforms.

[thanjon]

Honestly, not very much. 

I mean, sure, you could use an upgrade, but that clock speed is slammin'. How many cores does it run?

[mrkaru]

56 minutes ago, thanjon said:

Honestly, not very much. 

I mean, sure, you could use an upgrade, but that clock speed is slammin'. How many cores does it run?

Just 4. I always wondered how much benefit for gaming I'd get with a 6 or even an 8 core, but the price jump after 4 is just insane. 

[ybriK]

No major bottlenecks here, heck you could probably still get away with a 1080 with or without overclocks to your CPU. If I was in your shoes I'd sell the 980, grab a 1080 and call it a day. Or sell the 3570K, grab a used 3770K and 1070/1080. Up to you.

 

[SLAYR]

1 hour ago, mrkaru said:

Just 4. I always wondered how much benefit for gaming I'd get with a 6 or even an 8 core, but the price jump after 4 is just insane. 

None, for prettymuch almost every game, I have seen a few games use 12 to 16, but it was unintentional, and not efficient at all.